From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishvictimvic‧tim /ˈvɪktɪm/ ●●● S3 W2 noun [countable] 1 SCATTACKsomeone who has been attacked, robbed, or murdered The victim received head injuries from which she died a week later.rape/murder etc victim Most homicide victims are under 30.victim of victims of crime a credit card fraud ring that stole millions of dollars from unsuspecting victims2 SUFFERsomeone who suffers because of something bad that happens or because of an illnessvictim of victims of age discrimination He was the victim of an administrative error. a massive aid programme for the famine victims AIDS victims and other patients who are terminally ill All these people are innocent victims. He was used to being in charge, not being the victim of circumstance. Saying that the unemployed ‘don’t want to work’ is a classic case of blaming the victim.3 → fall victim to somebody/something4 → be/become a victim of its own success5 → sacrificial victim6 → fashion/style victimCOLLOCATIONS – Meaning 2: someone who suffers because of something bad that happens or because of an illnessADJECTIVES/NOUN + victim a flood/earthquake/cyclone etc victimEarthquake victims were living in tents in the city's parks.a famine victim (=someone who has had no food to eat for a long time)Aid is being shipped to famine victims.a cancer/AIDS etc victimHe helped raise £2,000 for a dying cancer victim.an accident/crash victimThe crash victims were rushed to hospital.an innocent victimChildren are the innocent victims of war.an unfortunate victimIf you are the unfortunate victim of a tragic accident, this card will tell doctors that you are willing to donate your organs.victim + NOUNa victim mentality (=when someone always thinks of themselves as a victim)Many of us fall into a victim mentality, and blame all our troubles on other people.phrasesa victim of circumstance (=someone who suffers because of something they cannot control)She was a victim of circumstance, as she was born at a time when women had no power.verbsblame the victim (=to say that someone is responsible for their own bad situation )It is blaming the victim to ask the woman what she does that makes her husband lose his temper and hit her.portray somebody as a victim (=to write or talk about someone as though they are not responsible for their bad situation)She was portrayed as the victim of a loveless marriage.
Examples from the Corpus
victim• victims of domestic abuse• a victim of circumstance• Is that what you meant by killers and victims?• Heart attack victims stand a better chance if they are treated immediately.• One of the bombing victims was dead on arrival in hospital.• They are launching a massive aid program to help the famine victims.• And the first victims were not black, as you might surmise, but white men.• Our aim is to help victims of crime.• The program was grossly insensitive to Holocaust victims.• We maintain the hope that Gil will be the last victim.• Children, too, are the main victims of landmines.• a murder victim• She had been the victim of a particularly vicious attack.• It is all too common to blame the victim in rape cases.• If the person's heart was heavy with misdeeds, the Devourer would consume the victim and they would never find peace.• He was ordered to compensate all of the victims of the fire and pay a heavy fine.• In most sexual offences, the attacker is known to the victim.• The victim was shaken, but physically unharmed.• The victim still had a small piece of metal from the van in his leg, he added.rape/murder etc victim• In one, blood was seen dripping through the ceiling from a murder victim on to another woman.• But an expert who counsels male rape victims says a change in the law is needed.• A more likely scenario is that male rape victims would be afforded the same shoddy treatment as their female counterparts.• After the furore over the schoolgirl rape victim, he risks having a controversial but respectable viewpoint mistaken for insensitivity.• The emphasis of the research mainly focused on the press reporting of the rape victim.• They serenaded the rape victim inside, cheering a brother on as if it were a football game.blaming the victim• The Employment Training Scheme is a classic example of blaming the victim.• There are a range of behaviours and relationships which provide a variety of ways of blaming the victim.• This is more than blaming the victim, it involves making the victim part of the problem.• When does encouraging women to be appropriately cautious amount to blaming the victim?Origin victim (1400-1500) Latin victima “person or animal killed as a religious offering” 